Packing Post-Winter Pounds on Senior Horses

Occasionally I peruse equine forums on the Internet to see what horse health and care topics people are talking about. Recently, I feel like I've seen an influx in discussions seeking advice on how or what to feed a horse (or, more specifically, an eventer or jumper or OTTB or pony or senior horse or…you get the picture) that needs to either gain or lose weight, improve coat condition, needs more or less energy, or has some type of nutrition-related issue. (After all, no one asks for advice when their feeding program is working and their horse is at an ideal weight, right?) And, generally, following said question are dozens of answers from well-meaning people ranging from very suitable feeding advice, to tips I know, but might have forgotten, to suggestions that make me cringe and vow never to trust anything I read on the Internet ever again (unless it's the veterinarian-approved content we run on TheHorse.com, of course!).

I bring this up not because I'm encouraging you to swear off Internet horse care articles and advice—let's face it, I'd be out of a job if that happened!—but because I think there are benefits to discussing horse care problems one might be having, such as feeding issues, with other owners who've experienced something similar. And something I've been seeing and hearing a lot of in recent weeks is that senior horses finished winter with a little less weight than they began it with.

This has happened to Dorado. We struggled with his weight for the first couple winters we had him because, regardless of how much hay we put in front of him or how meticulously we blanketed him to keep him from expending calories trying to stay warm, he just wasn't maintaining his weight through the colder months.

The past two winters, I've been able to help Dorado maintain the vast majority of his weight (it only took three years to figure out, but at least we made progress!). Last spring, I decided to consult a friend experienced in helping horses maintain body condition and ultimately learned the value of getting advice, be it from a friend, an equine nutritionist, or a veterinarian.

My friend—who happens to be an equine nutritionist—took a look at Dorado's diet. We weren't far off from where we needed to be, but she suggested a few diet tweaks to increase the amount calories he was consuming without filling him with so much starch and sugar that he'd go wild on me.

To pack pounds on Dorado, we:

We tried to increase the amount of hay Dorado ate in his stall each night. Unfortunately, he typically hits a wall, so to speak, around four to five flakes and ends up pulling the rest out of his hay rack, trampling it, and then refusing to eat it.

Instead, we increased the amount of beet pulp—a highly digestible fiber source—he consumed each day since he wasn't eating the extra hay we were offering him. This was much more successful than our failed attempt and boosting his hay intake.

We also switched his concentrate to a higher-quality product with low starch and sugar levels.

Finally, we added a pelleted fat supplement to his grain when he was at his lightest. Once he started gaining his weight back, we backed off the fat supplement to see if he could maintain without it. Lo and behold, we haven't needed the supplement since then.

Thanks to seeking advice from a friend, Dorado didn't drop weight this winter. In fact, during his spring check up, his veterinarian actually said, "Man, did he hold his weight well this winter!" I think that means we succeeded.

One quick caveat: Before you implement suggestions from friends or acquaintances—regardless of whether the advice came from a person two stalls away or over the Internet—consider discussing the changes with your veterinarian or equine nutritionist (depending on what the advice is on) to ensure they won't be detrimental to your horse's health. Your horse is an individual, and what worked for another horse might not be indicated for all animals.

So in the spirit of sharing experiences with other horse owners: How did your older horse weather the winter, and what are your post-winter weight gain tips for senior horses?

About the Author

Erica

Erica Larson, News Editor, holds a degree in Journalism with an external specialty in Equine Science from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddleseat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in three-day eventing with her OTTB, Dorado. Erica enjoys photography in her spare time.

Comments

The views expressed in the posts and comments of this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Horse or Blood-Horse Publications. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author. All readers are encouraged to leave comments; all points of view are welcome, but comments that are discourteous and/or off-topic may be removed.

My senior TB fluctuates her weight and tends to drop right before winter. This year I added a fat supplement and an extra amount of beet pulp to her diet. She is not a big hay eater unfortunately. I really like the fat supplement I use (Legends Omega Plus) and have since backed off of the amount of supplement and beet pulp to see how she does once the grass starts to come in.

Alaine

12 Mar 2014 8:36 PM

Silky also gets soaked beet pulp and Omega Plus with his low starch/sugar feed plus he looks forward to his soaked alfalfa pellets.

Sandra

12 Mar 2014 9:11 PM

I just acquired a senior Friesian who was thinner than the vet wanted, but was healthy. I put him on Nutrena Senior and rice bran and ground flax plus grass and alfalfa hay. His manners were wonderful but after three weeks he suddenly got spooky ( at things he didn't spook at before, )and the other day he bucked me off!

He had never offered to buck or spook before so I decided the feed was making him nuts. His ground manners are still great. I took him off most of the grain and cut way back on the alfalfa. His weight is looking great now, I'm now worried about getting bucked off again. He's my once in a lifetime dream horse! What do I do now? I've been doing a lot of groundwork since I got bucked off.

Pamela

Pamela, falling off is never fun! I'd suggest finding a good trainer to help you with your nerves. My trainer, unfortunately, lives in Massachusetts (we're in Kentucky), but I always have her on speed dial for when Dorado or I have problems ... I don't know what I'd do without her!

Erica

13 Mar 2014 8:05 AM

Pamela, it's normal that a horse that is underweight not to have the same energy level, since you got his weight increased he will be feeling better and have the spunk to give you more of a ride.

Also, since you have not had him for long he may just be testing you. As Erica suggested please get yourself a trainer before you get hurt or afraid of your horse, take care.

I also feed my 25 year old hard keeper beet pulp with a senior feed and the granulated fat. She also get her hay supplemented with Alfalfa cubes. It's a good combination.

Wendy

13 Mar 2014 4:03 PM

I am a big fan of beet pulp & senior feed , I also feed rice bran as it gives them a nice sheen too. In the past I have given our Oldenburg mare 17 + , all in one which helps put the weight on across the top line in a short amount of time. She too got very high but it also had to do with the joint supplement I was giving her, she wasn't in pain therefore she felt great,

KAREN

17 Mar 2014 3:20 AM

I'm a firm believer in the benefits of beet pulp too! This last December, I received an 18-yo TB mare who was skinny, about a 2 on the 1-5 scale. I've kept her blanketed, but also put her on a senior feed and added soaked beet pulp and a high fat supplement. She's actually *gained* weight this winter despite the horrible bitter cold and snowy winter we've had. The beet pulp and fat supplement have also helped my 29-year-old TB mare more or less maintain weight this winter, so I'm a believer!

Sharon

17 Mar 2014 4:27 PM

I have one that colicked really bad a few years ago, he dehydrated so bad that he gave himself a heart murmer (which went away again as soon as we got some water in him), he also ended up with liver issues and was put on a low fat, low calory, low carb diet... and he's a hard keeper that has hay in front of him 24/7... This winter I put him on Standlee hay pellets half grass pellets (timmothy or orchard, whichever is at the store when I go shopping, it's a little hit and miss) and about half alfalfa pellets for some extra nutrition. He's also getting beet pulp mixed with that and holding his own, he's thinner than I would idealy like, but I'll wait a month or 2 after the grass comes back to start cutting his feed back out so he'll gain it all back before he goes back to the all grass diet that he and the rest of them are on all summer. I was trying to put vegatable oil on his feed, but it kept freezing and the raccoons kept getting into it and destroying the containers so now I have some very well oiled floor boards and no oil anymore (they dumped a full gallon last time)

Summer

17 Mar 2014 4:32 PM

My old man cannot gain weight. I have tried beet pulp, rice bran. I did a test and he does have ulcers. Another thing is how is his digestive track? I now have him on EquiPride but I should have stayed with Dr. Regan Golobs suggestion of Dynamite Clay and I have a good detox suggested by April Battles,Holistic Health Works. But I am purchasing a Fodder Solutions unit which may be just the ticket. We are still on the journey.

Lisa

18 Mar 2014 9:05 AM

Pamela,

I am a sixty six year"old" toolmaker that grew up on a small family farm with a team of draft horses that my brother and I rode back and forth across the fields as Archie the hired man cultivated corn and other chores.

We got ponies and saddle horses later in our lives to ride with Dad. We both got tossed at times. The drill was always the same. You either got back on as many times as it took to ride the horse or else! This approach taught the horse that it was not going back to the barn by himself, and we never had a chance to let the fear take over.

I am still keeping seven of Dad's retired Standardbreds to save them from ending their lives on a slaughterhouse floor.

I am not a licensed expert, but it sounds as if you now have a healthy horse that needs to go more miles per week. Your fear of a rear end collision with the ground needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Spending time with a horse every day is the best way to create trust and overcome the fear that both you and your horse may share. Spend time just talking and scratching with your fingernails rather than a brush at first. Dad was of the old school mentality in handling horses, and could not walk up to any of his horses in the pasture. These same horses now walk up to me and lower their heads for some conversation and scratching.

Both you and the horse may need some assistance from a more experienced rider. It could have been that your newly reenergized horse just jumped because it felt good, and caught you off guard. Consult local people for help, and get your feet back in the stirrups. Just create a bond of trust and affection between you and the horse. There is no timetable for this work. Some of Dad's horses were abused and starved by a trainer that conned Dad in his later years. Most responded to gentle handling, but one mare is a "somedays yes, somedays no" situation. She is making progress that is slow but sure. Try to remember that as a prey animal the world can be a scary place.

Good luck,

Bob

ROBERT

18 Mar 2014 11:51 AM

My OTTB was a 3 on a 1-10 scale when we got her. She gained weight ok, but never "looked good". It wasn't until after a very scary gas colic (including a horrible reaction to one of the medications resulting in 2 seizures - one with me trapped behind her in the stall) that she gets a probiotic everyday. I noticed she was starting to finally develop a too line & her worm load count decreased to zero. Just to see if it was the probiotic I took her off it & within a week she started dropping weight again. I also worked with my vet after trying many senior/high calorie feeds for weeks each & now custom mix her grain myself so I can increase/decrease beet pulp, rice bran, or any of the other grains depending on what she needs & what time of the year. She will only eat so much hay because she is too busy walking all over the pasture checking out every noise. I'm glad I also worked with a good trainer who told me to expect it to take 3 months for her behavior to return to where it was before she gained weight. It was a very challenging period, but her behavior did return to how it was before ... but with lots more vigor! Very safe to ride & she would like it if I rode all day everyday!

Connie

18 Mar 2014 12:07 PM

I have a 15 year old Appendix who was 300 lbs underweight when I got him, has always been a hard keeper, as well as a slow picky eater; he presented with ulcers a year ago (think he's had them on and off most of the time I've owned him). He has done pretty well this winter on free choice timothy hay, a ration balancer, canola oil, flax seed, a rice bran/flax pellet, soaked alfalfa cubes along with a daily probiotic. He seems to be a little thinner now than in the fall, but at least his butt doesn't look like a sagging tent roof from behind like it usually does by this time of the year. I have given him soaked beet pulp before, and he'll eat it for a while, but then seems to tire of it. He's picky--won't eat the shreds, only the pellets. Likes soaked alf cubes better than alfalfa pellets. He won't touch a salt block, so I'm happy he eats the soaked alf cubes, but he eats so slow that the wet cubes freeze in the winter before he finishes them. I've tried going to smaller more frequent meals, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. He holds his weight best being out on pasture, and is the only one of my five that gets to be out without a grazing muzzle. He is my "problem child". He has some arthritis, so I avoid the senior and high fat feeds due to them having soybean oil as the fat component-

Jaye

18 Mar 2014 5:16 PM

My 25 year old pacemaker dependent PPID/IR Arabian mare has struggled to hold weight over the past years and this horrible winter has been no help. She gets all the hay she can eat along with soaked Ontario Dehy Timothy Balance Cubes guaranteed to be low sugar/low starch, soaked beet pulp and ground flax seed eith her supplements.

This winter I added Stabul 1 from Nuzu Feed, a low sugar/low starch product, that seems to be helping her fill back out. The weight tape measurement is not much higher but her body looks rounder and less angular.

Increasing fat would be a help but not allowed with her medical conditions.

Keeping her stabled overnight gives her uninterrupted time to eat without my gelding trying to finish off all the hay. She is still munching when I feed the next morning.

Jennifer

19 Mar 2014 3:27 PM

We use Nutrena ProForce Fuel 12% Protein, 12% Fat and Fiber) and Beet Pulp to keep weight on our two seniors, age 21 and 25. Neither one drops any weight during the winter, but I like this combination to ensure that neither one does. My gelding, age 21, is still showing in the hunters and does halter and showmanship as well - honestly, still looks like he's 10!

Caroline

28 Mar 2014 4:07 PM

I have a 25 year old with hind gut issues, who was on the thin side anyway, but dropped weight precipitously as soon as the cooler weather of December hit. Consulting with his veterinarian, I started feeding as much hay as he wanted; switched to low starch/low sugar concentrate; added rice bran, flaxseed meal, Platinum Healthy Weight flax seed oil, and Platinum Balance probiotics. He has gained 100 lbs. back, and acts like a teenager. When the vet came out and saw when he did spring shots, he was amazed at how much better he looks and acts. He is still being ridden lightly, and is a willing and happy horse.

Charlotte

28 Mar 2014 6:17 PM

A couple of years ago my then 26 year old Arabian mare began to have trouble holding her weight. During the summer while on pasture she gained weight slightly but through the winter would lose weight. She always had plenty of alfalfa/timothy hay. The mare still had a lot of energy and would come running at feeding time. In the summer she had dapples. She was wormed routinely.

I discussed this with my vet, my farrier and my equine dentist. They offered the usual suggestion of adding fat. I tried every weight gain product sold at TSC with no results. Adding oil to her feed made no improvement.

By last fall it would be a stretch to say the mare had a body score of 2 out of 5.

In October I started feeding her two quarts of Standlee beet pulp pellets and one quart of Nutrena Safe Choice Senior twice a day. This was always soaked in water. And the mare had access to as much hay as she wanted.

In a few weeks I started to see some improvement. The mare has steadily gained weigh over the winter in spite of one of the coldest, most bitter winters on record in Ohio. Currently I would place her body score at least 4 and still improving.

It appears I will need to keep the mare on this diet, with some exception during grazing months when grass may be enough.

Pat

28 Mar 2014 6:28 PM

I too have an Arabian that losing weight in the winter but if he is on summer pasture he does great. We lost our summer pasture in 2013. I would say he is a 2 also. I tried beet pulp, corn oil nothing seemed to help. He eats so much and then quits. I just ordered a Fodder Solutions unit.. I am hoping that fodder will give him what he needs since he does not have pasture. I am also going to try Cool 100 Calories as it is higher in fat than Rice pellets.

Lisa

28 Mar 2014 9:23 PM

My husband's Quarter horse just this winter has not held his weight. He's 16, teeth have been done, wormed etc. He's on beet pulp, Nutrena Safe Choice Senior, vitamins, alfalfa and grass hay. He eats most of the alfalfa, but picks at the grass hay...he just doesn't seem to have a desire to eat. I'm going to try adding a fat supplement and increase the beet pulp too. Thanks for a good article.

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